170 



THE IKRIGATION AGE. 



The expressed doubt of the ability of the Canadian 

 canal to carry one-half of its estimated capacity is on 

 all fours with the statement that the Milk Eiver has 

 "not more than two feet fall per mile," when it has be- 

 tween four and five times that grade. 



With estimates of cost there is but one slight occa- 

 sion to deal at the present time. While it is stated 

 in the second annual report of the United States Rec- 

 lamation Service that "field work was continued during 

 1903, this being the fourth year of surveys since the 

 examination and reconnaissance in 1900" and 1904, in 

 which further surveys were continued, being the fifth, 

 it is quite evident that the service has still quite a long 

 way to travel before it can submit a reasonably in- 

 telligent estimate of cost. 



It has already been pointed out that the cost of the 

 dam at St. Mary lakes was jumped suddenly from 

 $22,000 to $228,000. 



The cost, of the section of 27.4 miles from the St. 

 Mary dam to the north fork of Milk River is given as 

 $553,540, or slightly in excess of $20,000 per mile, 

 which, for a canal thirty feet wide on the bottom to 

 carry ten feet of water, in the remote section of north- 

 ern Montana, impresses one as a low figure. 



A siphon crossing north fork, 2,638 feet long, with 

 181 feet invert, is estimated at $67,000 (!) and 16.4 

 miles of canal between the north and south forks are 

 placed at $360,000, or practically $25,000 per mile, 

 while mention is made of "the greatest depth of exca- 

 vation on the entire line, amounting to 167 feet," oc- 

 curring on this section. 



The total cost to this point is estimated at $1.- 

 397,600. 



The section of the first annual report devoted to 

 this enterprise closes with the following paragraph : 



"A reconnaissance below Malta to Glasgow has 

 shown that there are 107,000 acres of agricultural land 

 available between the reservoir (Lake Bowdoin) and 

 Hinsdale, and 40,000 acres between the latter point 

 and Glasgow." 



West of Malta there may be 60,000 acres, one-half 

 of which is already provided with water from Milk 

 River so that about 177,000 to 180,000 acres would 

 form the extreme limit of the area to be benefited by 

 this diversion canal from the St. Mary's River. 



"From the south fork of the Milk River the canal 

 would follow southward for 25.9 miles until Cutbank 

 creek is reached the water, to continue down that stream 

 and the Marian River for 100 miles, more or less, be- 

 ing diverted again near the mouth of Willow creek, 

 and carried in an artificial channel for a distance of 

 about seventy-five miles until it is turned into Big 

 Sandy creek, a tributary of Sage creek." 



In addition, therefore, to the 43.8 miles of arti- 

 ficial canal, there would be 100.9 miles of canal to be 

 built. These were estimated to cost, in Senate report 

 No. 254, $450,000 and $810,000 respectively, a total 

 of $1,260,000, and a grand total of $2,657,000. 



It is well to note that at the point of diversion 

 from the Marias River, at the head of the seventy-five 

 miles of artificial channels, a dam of about 180 feet in 

 height will have to be constructed in the bed of the 

 stream, the cost of which can scarcely be included in 

 the estimate of $810,000 for this division. Beyond 

 that, there has to be added the cost of developing Lake 

 Bowdoin into a storage basin and the cost of construc- 

 tion of the distributing canals in the lower Milk River 

 canal. 



And all this cost for the irrigation of probably 

 180,000 acres, nearly fifteen dollars per acre, as the last 

 item stands without the addition of other items that axe 

 essential. 



In 1901, Mr. Newell stated before the committee 

 on public lands, House of Representatives, that: 



"The cost of providing the most accessible reclama- 

 tion works would at first probably not exceed $5.00 per 

 acre reclaimed." 



This analysis of the reports of the Reclamation 

 Service would indicate that, except by diverting the 

 water through Canadian territory, the cost of the pro- 

 posed Milk River reclamation in Montana will reach 

 nearly three times that limit, on the preliminary esti- 

 mates of cost, which are subject to great increase for 

 apparent reasons. 



Yet the Reclamation Service has toyed with the 

 project for five consecutive seasons without arriving at 

 any definite conclusions about any particular item of 

 it and after having "boxed the compass" on every fea- 

 ture affecting its international importance. Had the 

 enterprise been the child of a private promoter's brain, 

 or subjected to the examination which corporations 

 handling private irrigation securities would have in- 

 sisted upon- the promotors and corporations Mr. New- 

 ell regards with such disdain it would long ago have 

 been classified as visionary, chimerical and impractical. 



All these things may not warrant Senator Carter's 

 conclusion that the Reclamation Service's agents would 

 have been more at home "sorting rocks" but they would 

 suggest that sound judgment and prompt decision are 

 not among their striking qualities, and that by their 

 dilatory proceedings, the farmers of Montana and the 

 friends of national irrigation everywhere may be mis- 

 led, misinformed and humbugged into endorsing en- 

 terprises that have no sound merit. 



IRRIGATING ONIONS IN TEXAS. 



Two methods of irrigation are practiced. First, 

 a ridge is thrown up around the beds and they are 

 flooded. Second, water is led down the middle of the 

 narrow rows by opening a shallow trench with a hoe. 



When the plants are the diameter of a lead pen- 

 cil they are ready to be transplanted ; wet the bed 

 thoroughly, draw the plants and trim the roots with 

 shears to about an inch, and cut the tops to about five 

 or six inches in length ; move plants to the field in any 

 convenient carrier and keep moist while transplanting ; 

 rows should be straight in order to be conveniently 

 cultivated and about fourteen to fifteen inches apart, 

 and plants set four and one-half inches in drill ; culti- 

 vation should be shallow and frequent. Never let the 

 grass or weeds get a start. 



In the matter of irrigating, when rain interferes, 

 the planter should use judgment and be careful not to 

 put on too much water from December 15 to February 

 15. From that time on water can not hurt them too 

 much as the weather will be getting warmer and the 

 days longer. As to the cost $100 per acre should cover 

 all expenses, including the marketing. If fertilizer is 

 used this should be added to the cost. As soon as 80 

 or 90 per cent of the tops have fallen the crop is ready 

 and should be harvested at once. 



Send $2.50 for The Irrigation Age 



.;. 1 year, and The Primer of Irrigation ';. 



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